Chapter 6: Fury No One Can Bear – Section 10

A narrow passage, filled with countless mysteries. Lasers, radars, physical weapons, heavy locks, air compressors—each one deadly. If Black Hair didn’t possess the ability to operate machinery, he would have been reduced to ashes long ago. Even so, he had to exert every ounce of his strength to make it through that short, just 100-meter-long ejection tunnel.

After all, it was still a warship. No matter how many years had passed, as long as it had sufficient energy, it couldn’t be underestimated. Just to clear the more than three-meter-long obstruction in the ejection port, Black Hair nearly lost half his life. It was a solid composite metal cylinder—designed to clear paths during emergency evacuations, not like the thin armor plates on armored vehicles in TV shows that could be easily penetrated.

But this passage was after all meant for escape. Once past those initial 100 meters, one could directly enter the maintenance ducts.
For Black Hair, this was undoubtedly a lifeline.

All his physical strength was exhausted. Gasping for breath in the murky air, he could barely control his nerves. His entire body trembled violently, and his right hand was covered in blood. His chest heaved like a rapidly moving bellows, causing him to feel dizzy. Yet he felt pleased, even a bit excited.

Because from now on, nothing could stop him from seizing control of this powerful ship.

Though what lay before him were pipes as dense as a spider web, under his mechanical control, they appeared as clear as paper. The hardest part was merely the surface armor. Since he was already inside, everything became much easier. Moreover, after so many years, it remained unknown how much energy the ship still had.

But Black Hair was sure there wouldn’t be much left.
And indeed, it was as he thought. The ship was nothing but an empty shell. He walked inside for 30 minutes without seeing any moving objects. Even the simplest hatches could only be opened manually—which greatly facilitated things for Black Hair, making the journey as easy as a sightseeing trip.

Power room, soldier’s lounge, combat platform, air combat response module, bridge… He moved along unimpeded, yet his frown grew deeper.

It was too quiet. An eerie silence, as if death had settled in. Even the air felt stagnant, causing panic.

It’s certain that the warship doesn’t have much energy. But to say it has none at all seems a bit unreasonable. After all, a warship isn’t some ordinary small mech. It’s common for it to embark on supply missions that last several years, and it’s equipped with energy regeneration systems. Even if energy is scarce, small systems like the air circulation system can still operate automatically. It shouldn’t be this quiet. If prolonged time has caused the machinery to age, Black Hair noticed that everything here was still in perfect condition—none of its functions had been lost.

What caught Black Hair’s attention even more was that after such a long time of exploration, he hadn’t seen a single corpse. All the corridors and rooms were empty, with not even the slightest trace of life. It was as if no living beings had ever existed here. The only things visible were thick layers of dust and some grayish-black powder—truly eerie, like a haunted place.

It was practically like a horror movie… Black Hair smiled self-mockingly.

The long corridors eventually led to an end. Relying on the route map obtained through his control abilities, Black Hair soon reached his destination: a small room—the captain’s quarters.

If there was anything that could unravel the mysteries of this warship, Black Hair knew the answer lay in this room.

The room was simple: a bed, a table, a chair, and an antique laptop. The only difference from other places was that the air purification system in this room was actually turned on. A faint breeze made the place somewhat gloomy, but it was much cleaner than the outside.

Without hesitation, Black Hair sat down by the bed as if he were at home and turned on the laptop.

With a soft humming sound, this ancient device, which had been dormant for who knew how many years, finally started working again. Soon, a clear figure appeared in the gloomy room.

“I’m sorry if my appearance has startled you, guest,” said an aged voice.

“No, I’m glad to see a living person here,” Black Hair replied slowly, his expression still calm. But inside, he was truly surprised.

He never expected that this antique laptop was actually a virtual image memory device, capable of bringing the original owner of this warship right before him.

It was an old man, an old man dressed in a black military uniform. Judging from his appearance—full of wrinkles, gray hair, and even somewhat cloudy eyes—patches of dark age spots covered his exposed skin, standing out sharply, as if he might pass away at any moment. Yet his uniform was impeccably neat, and his posture was as straight as that of a red pine. On his left chest, rows of bright military medals shone like dazzling suns!

“Snap!!”

Almost by reflex, the black-haired man immediately stood at attention, the sound of his feet hitting the ground echoing clearly. (Note) Unfortunately, his reaction served no purpose at all. The old man, with his straight posture like a red pine, seemed completely unaware of him, still staring straight ahead with a serious expression.

“Please stop making useless efforts, guest. What you see of me is merely an image. I don’t know what time it is now, nor who you are. Still, I dare to ask you for a favor.”

“Yes!” replied the black-haired man, though a hint of sadness flashed in his eyes.

No matter when, a true soldier of Huaguo would have only two goals. The black-haired man didn’t even need to think to know what the old man would say next.

To defend the country and expand its territory… Given the current situation, it was likely only the latter that applied.

Sure enough, after a brief pause, the old soldier’s gaze suddenly became sharper than that of the most fierce falcon.

“As you can see, guest, by the time you arrived here, there might already be no one left. My sons have likely vanished into the passage of time. So, this warship is the only reward we can give you. You may take whatever you want. We have only one small request of you.”

“I hope you can deliver the coordinates of this planet to my companions.”